Relaxing
by Disney's Darling
Summary: Fluff. Tohru braids Ayame's hair. Romance if you squint. Ameru.


Relaxing

A/N: This little ficcie came about from me shipping Ayame/Tohru, and having a fetish for Aaya's sexy hair… hehe. And I liked the idea of Tohru braiding Ayame's hair. I'll shut up now and leave you to enjoy my humble fluff! Alternate titles welcome.

xxxxx

It had not been a good day at the humble home of Shigure Sohma. Ayame had dropped by again, again with the intention of "forging a bond between the brothers". Yuki, predictably, had been pissed off - or as close to 'pissed off' as Yuki ever got, polite and calm as he was - by his annoyingly theatrical, dramatic elder brother.

But despite everything going predictably, today was different. Yuki's infamously smart tongue had been a little too smart today - his closing statement had been "Just go back to whatever theatre extravanganza you crawled out of", causing everyone, including Shigure, to wince - and while Ayame did his absolute best not to let it show - because he knew that nothing Yuki said could be as hurtful as his brushing Yuki off years ago - on a personal level, it did hurt. It actually hurt quite a bit.

Ayame sat down next to Tohru and sighed dramatically, somehow still managing to look unharmed by Yuki's stinging remarks. But as he relaxed, he let it show. He started to play with his long, silky hair, twirling it around this finger, flipping it over his shoulder, even chewing the end of it. Tohru noticed Ayame fiddling with his precious hair, and wondered if maybe something was wrong. While Yuki and Ayame always fought, Ayame did look a little different. He looked just a little worn out, a tiny bit sad, with a tad of "what more can I do?" thrown in for good measure.

"Ayame-san, are you all right?" Tohru asked concernedly.

"Oh! Our precious little flower is worried for me. Can there be no higher flattery?" Ayame spouted in his usual dramatic fashion, sounding ridiculous but somehow poetic.

Tohru smiled sadly. "Are you all right, Ayame-san?" she repeated earnestly.

"I just wish Yuki knew that I really am trying." sighed Ayame, opening up in the same manner of the first day he met Tohru.

"Even if Yuki doesn't know, I know. And Shigure-san. And Hatori-san. And we respect that," Tohru comforted. Ayame returned to fiddling with his hair as he pondered Tohru's words. Tohru noticed. She'd always admired Ayame's hair; it was so soft and silky, not to mention such a pretty colour. In fact, she sometimes wished she could braid it. And as she was thinking about Ayame's beautiful hair, her thoughts turned to the owner of the hair. For all his tendencies to be overdramatic, self-centered (more like self-obsessed) and incredibly theatrical, Ayame was a nice person. He knew how to make a girl feel special, and he cared about his brother, and he was romantic, creative, confident, really very sweet... Not to mention extraordinarily good-looking. No; was she actually thinking-

"Ayame-san?"

"Yes, Tohru-kun?"

"W-Would it be all- all right... Would you like me to braid your hair?" Tohru tripped over her last sentence; she could hardly believe she was being so forward! Ayame was probably worried about Yuki, and their relationship, or lack thereof, and anything else Ayame usually worried about-

"Yes, Tohru-kun. Actually, I was about to ask you myself. I find it very relaxing." Ayame flicked his hair over his shoulder again and motioned for Tohru to sit behind him.

"Be gentle; it hurts if you pull it." he cautioned.

"Y-Yes, Ayame-san!" Tohru stammered. She took his hair in her hands; it really was as silky as it looked! For all she'd heard about hair as long as his being difficult to manage, it parted easily into the three strands necessary for braiding - or plaiting, as the case may be - knot-free. As she braided, Ayame sighed delicately with relaxation, smiling as she worked her way down his hair.

"You're a lovely girl, Tohru-kun," Ayame said out of the blue.

"Um, th-thanks!" blurted Tohru.

"You really have a way with people. I feel so safe around you, so... unconditionally accepted." You never patronise me; you always take me seriously... unlike most people. Sometimes I even wish you loved m-

"W-Wow! No one's ever said that to me before! I, um-" Tohru didn't know what to say. "But what about Shigure-san and Hatori-san?"

"Yes, well, that's different. They're my best friends. But there's just something about you, Tohru-kun." And Ayame left it at that.

...

"There! All done!" chirped Tohru, having finished braiding Ayame's hair.

"Thank you, Tohru-kun. I feel much better now," said Ayame softly.

And Ayame meant it. He did feel a lot better. Not only was having his hair braided always relaxing, Tohru was a great listener. Maybe he should ask Tohru to braid his hair more often.


End file.
